Essay on 'The Riders'

Here is a excellent bit of writing on The Riders a guy named Paul did for a English University course. He got a High Distinction for it, so that should be an indicator of how good it is. Email and tell him what you think of it. Enjoy. You can also download it from here. (Hold down shift and click). It's a Microsoft Word Document.

The Riders

by Tim Winton

Notions of Gender as represented by Scully, Jennifer and Billy

In Tim Winton's latest adult novel, The Riders, the reader is thrust into a journey of both a physical nature and that through the emotional state of its protagonist, Fred Scully. Forced into a chase through Europe, in search of his absent wife, daughter in tow, the reader follows Scully, hoping for him to succeed in his quest. It is through this journey that Winton explores the concept of masculinity and femininity in a world (or many different worlds) where the concept is being reinvented. In creating his characters, Winton both draws from, and challenges traditional notions of gender and family relationship roles. By examining Scully and Jennifer, one is given an insight into gender in a world where gender roles are no longer clear cut; in a world where men can cry and women can have careers that often take precedence over maternal roles. The Riders is a novel that can be used to compare the roles given to gender with those traditionally developed in Australian texts, leading to some interesting findings in regard to the changing nature of these roles.

Before any study of Winton's characters can commence it is crucial to examine the traditional role of gender in Australian fiction and society. Even though Winton places this narrative outside of Australia, it deals with an Australian family, their traditions and personalities deeply rooted in Australia, and how they cope with a crisis in Europe. To this end, the story can also be seen as a story of national identity and the differences in culture. The 'Australian type' in literature is based on a romantic view of the country's pioneers and early settlers. Developed in the nationalistic literature of the nineteenth century, this image became the stereotype of a nation. This type is described thus:

…many historians have accepted that the Australian 'type' has particular characteristics including: 'independence, manliness, a fondness for sport, egalitarianism, a dislike of mental effort, self-confidence, a certain disrespect for authority'. (White 1981)

While this larrikin view of Australians is sure to bring a smile to the faces of many, it is interesting to note that this is a masculine image. It is an image created in many nationalist works by Patterson and Lawson, and used extensively in The Paul Hogan Show, and a multitude of characters in Australian films such as: Archie and Frank in Gallipoli (1980), and Mick Dundee in Crocodile Dundee (1988). Whether used in jest or as a true representation of Australians, it is the image that has become a national stereotype that once combined with the physical traits of being tall, muscular, blonde, attractive and bronzed, presents a masculine image and one with power over his destiny, his environment and his relationships. It seems that in traditional Australian texts, the place of the woman was marginalised to the role of waiting at home and tending to domestic duties such as child raising while the male worked (usually in a manual capacity). She was then expected to be the object of desire for these males or someone to be rescued. It is only in texts such as "The Drover's Wife" that an alternative, stronger, more masculine version of females was offered but even this was tempered, as noted:

Women can be afforded status (masculine status) when they act in a way deemed masculine, but their behaviour will be acceptable within a total social network of meanings only if they remain true to what is believed to be their feminine nature. For this reason, the drover's wife of Henry Lawson's classic short story must cry…These attributes (being emotional, looking feminine, acting as if motivated by maternal instinct) are marks of femininity within a masculine economy.

(Schaffer 1988, p14)

Of course one cannot claim that this is the only representation of gender in the history of Australian literature; to do so would devaluate the work of many fine authors, but in many circles, this is the prevailing image, the popular or dominant image. This image is, of course, false. In a modern society, equality of gender and an expectation that each gender should have the same opportunities is not only expected by the people, but is legislated in anti-discrimination laws.

It is with this history of gender representation that we turn to Winton's characters in The Riders. Winton is known for his efforts to represent masculinity in less than traditional ways.

Tim Winton constantly plays with notions of masculinity in ways which appear to undermine conventional gender stereotypes. Much of his early work is concerned with an exploration of what it is like to be a son, a father, a husband, a male friend. This construction of male characters who are most often drawn in relationship (rather than being independent, separate, marcho hero figures who eschew connectedness as a basis for selfhood)…Further his male characters are often psychic, always intuitive, often emotional and sensitive. These qualities are often considered to be most highly developed in women in our culture. (Hopkins, 1993)

For the most part the reader is presented with Scully's view of the world, of himself, his marriage and his sense of fair play in relationships, both sexual, plutonic and in marriage. Both trusting and naive, Scully's unreliable comprehension of his life and to the actions of those he encounters presents the reader with questions as to whose version of the narrative is the truth. Jennifer, his absent wife, is silent for the main part in the novel. Obviously, Winton uses this for the effect of creating mystery, to keep the reader wondering where she is, but it also allows the reader to examine Scully, his masculinity, his perception of Jennifer and their relationship as he presents images of her from his memories and as part of his frantic search. This understanding of her appears flawed as both the reader and Scully eventually discover. It can be argued that Jennifer's silence presents the reader with a situation that can only bring them to marginalise the role of the female gender in the text and to view her in a negative way. However, the text does offer other female characters in positions of strength, none more so than Scully's daughter Billy, and to some extent, the other females he contacts during his chase. These other characters are often represented in a negative way, but this negativity comes courtesy of Scully's point of view, biased by Scully's obvious dislike for them or his belief that they like to think they are better than him or that both he and Jennifer were little more than playthings or a travelling freak show to these people.

Being the central character, it is Scully that the reader follows. His quest ,on a number of levels, develops an image of males that challenges the traditional 'type'. The reader first meets Scully as he begins work on restoring an eighteenth century cottage which stands beneath the ruins of an ancient Celtic castle. Purchased at the whim of his wife, Scully takes it upon himself to prepare the cottage for the impending arrival of his wife and daughter. It appears at first glance that Scully is a man in the Lawson tradition of man in that he is good with his hands, works manually, relies on mateship, is willing to separate from his family to work and seems to exude self-confidence. He believes himself to be a simple man, happy with his life, content in his work and his place.

The wind ploughed about outside as he drank off his Guiness. The yeasty, warm porter expanded in his gut and he moaned with pleasure. Geez, Scully, he thought, you're not hard to please. Just look at you. (p8)

This image of a simple man labouring is further reinforced by his own description of himself through the third person omniscient narrator.

It was the face of an optimist, of a man eager to please and happy to give around...He left school early, worked the deck of a boat, went on to market gardening. Sold fishing tackle, drove trucks, humped bricks on building sites, taught himself carpentry and put himself through a couple of years' architecture at university. Became a husband and father, lived abroad for a couple of years, and now he was a landowner in County Offaly, fixing an eighteenth century peasant cottage with his bare hands….All these lives, and still me. Old Scully. (p 9-10)

In this manner it seems that Scully is a stereotype and Jennifer, who returns to Australia with their child, is also fitting into a more conservative image of the female. Winton allows the reader to develop this view early in the novel, spending the majority of the early chapters focusing on Scully, perhaps to help the reader become close to him, to sympathise with him, to think they know him, or at least to see what he thinks of himself and of his family situation. But it is soon apparent that Scully is not a male from the tradition mentioned previously and Jennifer is not a housewife with goals of domesticity. Content to allow Jennifer the chance to take the masculine role of 'breadwinner', Scully became the main carer of their child. This is revealed in a conversation Scully has with Pete, a more conservative, old world man.

"She hated it. Loved working, you know. She was never the type to stay in and look after the kids. That's more me."

Pete Clucked. "And you claimin to be a workin man."

"When Billie - our daughter - was smaller, I worked part-time so I could be with her." (p39)

Here the reader is presented with another male mocking Scully's devotion to the feminine, 'care-giver' role he has chosen which helps show a somewhat softer side of the man.

Winton allows the couple to break with traditional family stereotypes of the male who controls the destiny of the family and the woman who follows. He follows Jennifer on her travels and even changes his country of residence for her (no small feat in a Winton novel where the call of the Australian ocean and the need to be near it is a basic need for human life, akin to the need for oxygen). This willingness to follow his wife is mentioned by Scully in his conversation with his new mate, Pete-the-Post. It is interesting to note that in this passage, Pete seems ill at ease to talk about the role of gender and quickly changes the subject.

Admit it Scully, he thought. You followed her, you'd follow her anywhere…On a queer feeling, a thing she couldn't explain, just to see her happy.

"Well maybe it's our turn to follow anyway," he said.

"Mebbe so. I don't know about women. These boards need sanding now. You need the power on, Scully. You can't do all this by hand."

(p41)

This willingness to follow his spouse is rooted in the tradition of the female waiting for or following the male. However, Winton goes beyond a simple reversal of traditional gendered family roles. He presents Jennifer as a woman with goals, a woman who, despite engaging in a search to find her own identity, has the power to follow her convictions. This is revealed in the fact that she first courted Scully, approaching him using lines she'd rehearsed and bought him a beer on their first meeting (p40). She initiated the trip overseas, partly because she was bored with her public service job (another masculine role) and partly for her desire to try her hand at the artistic life. She was the one who made the decision to dissolve their relationship. And she made the choice to not tell Scully of her plans. Even though to most readers, the family is a sacred institution, Jennifer here is shown to be a strong character, not being held back by a male or family. Obviously this course of action invites many negative readings of callousness, selfishness and neglect , but one cannot argue that she is calling the shots in this matter. This construction of character is the complete opposite to the one offered by Schaffer (1988).

It appears that Winton is allowing Scully to show a feminine side of his character, a more honest male character. This becomes crucial in the plot of the text. Scully refuses to accept Jennifer's abandonment of him and his child (traditionally a very masculine course of action) and proceeds on the ill fated and fruitless search through Europe to find her. This lack of control, this lack of power, this lack of answers goes against the masculine tradition. Scully is only reduced to physical violence on one occasion, although his temper rises and falls as one would expect. In traditional notions of gender, it is the male who controls destiny, forcing the feminine character to follow, be left behind, or to be left in a state of regret and bewilderment.

One character who is unique in many ways is Billy, the young daughter. Again Winton avoids traditional child and gender representations with this character. Christened with a male name, the young girl becomes Scully's saviour on the streets of Europe. Left in the care of her father for much of her upbringing it could be said that she has inherited his maleness in mannerism, independence and courage, but this would be a surface level reading. Of course, Billy is an individual who, even though closer to her father than mother, acts from her own intuition and experience. It is through her strength that Scully is saved from a life of waiting, wondering and searching, much like the mythical riders who come to Leap Castle waiting to collect a debt, never to be paid.

It seems that for all the constructions of gender possible, both traditional and modern, Winton has steered away from producing a definitive gender role for these characters. Other characters, such as Irma, Marriane, Dominique and Alex are rarely treated according to traditional stereotypes. Alex's impotence leaves him less than a man; Irma cannot be regarded as a stereotyped woman as she drifts through Europe, following the hapless pain on their journey; and Marriane and Dominique reveal a strength and cold hearted betrayal that is not expected by the reader. Only characters such as Pete reveal a traditional male 'type', complete with ready made mateship and male bonding, something that helps Scully make come to terms with his new found land. To this end, Winton has created polyphyletic characters, more sculpted by self identity than by gender.

The Riders is a complex and rich text that in a post-modern tradition, leaves much unanswered, forcing the reader to draw their own conclusions as to the narrative. Some find it uplifting to see the way Scully eventually has order restored to his life, while others find it totally dissatisfying that Jennifer is never found and no showdown comes. As far as gender is concerned, Winton has created an novel where the boundaries of male and female blur and become one. Neither Scully or Jennifer represent the traditional stereotyped Australian male or female - they are left to just be themselves, people with vices, destinies and qualities regardless of their biology. And Billy is unique, maybe a child of the nineties, the product of a world less concerned with gender than that of her grandparent's generation. Winton has produced a text where good people do bad things to one another regardless of sex or gender and search for identity as only they can understand.

Bibliography

Cornel, J, Hogan, P, Shadie, K, (1980), The Best of the Paul Hogan Show

Hogan, P, (1988), Crocodile Dundee, Lightening Ridge Entertainment, Sydney

Roderick, C, (Ed.), (1972), Short Stories and Sketches 1888-1922, Angus and Robertson, Sydney

Weir, P, (1980), Gallipoli, Roadshow Entertainment, Sydney

Winton, T, (1994), The Riders, Macmillan, Sydney

References

Hopkins, L, (1993), Writing from the margins: Representations of Gender and Class in Winton, in Rossiter, R, (1993), Reading Tim Winton, Angus And Robertson, Sydney

Schaffer, K, (1988), Women and the Bush: forces of desire for Australian cultural tradition, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

White, R. (1981), Inventing Australia: Images and Identity, Allen & Unwin, Sydney